The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

services

While there are plenty of places to buy movies and TV shows online, one minor problem is that you’re forever stuck having to watch that video on the platform where you purchased it, whether it’s Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, etc. But a newly revamped service claims to let you stash digital videos from various sources into one place. [More]

Amazon Prime members could soon be getting more bang for their buck when it comes to entertainment, as the e-commerce giant is rumored to be in talks with major sports leagues and television networks to offer live-streaming of sporting events. [More]

Back in February, Ann chose to keep her business with Time Warner Cable when the company dangled a free $300 prepaid gift card in her face. Fast forward to November and she’s still waiting for the card, like hundreds of other customers who stuck with the company or switched to the pay-TV provider. So what’s the deal? [More]

Uber or Lyft will soon be supporting their biggest rivals in the Old Bay State, thanks to a newly signed law regulating the ride-hailing industry. In all, Massachusetts will tack on a $.20/ride fee for these newer companies, with the revenue being divided up between the state, cities, and the taxi industry. [More]

You can now order just about anything online, but there are some things that can’t be delivered in a box on your doorstep. If department stores and their business model are going to survive, experts say, they need to change their offerings and sell more products that can’t be purchased online. [More]

Dangling a free prepaid gift card in front of folks’ faces is a time-honored method of getting people to switch services. But a number of cable customers who switched to Time Warner Cable because of the promise of a $300 gift card say the pay-TV provider has yet to make good on the promotion.[More]

You’ve probably seen your fair share of those “(Airline Name) giving away (X number) free tickets if you share this post” promotions that infiltrate social media but are actually bogus. In a new twist — and a ploy to bring over loyal passengers of Virgin America after its announced a $4 billion merger with Alaska Airlines — JetBlue really is offering consumers the chance to win one of 500 free tickets from the carrier, no Facebook required. [More]

Harris Teeter, the grocery chain with the name most likely to make people of all ages giggle hysterically, is currently testing a delivery partnership with car-hailing service Uber. Yes, instead of ordering a ride to bring you home with your groceries, you can simply order a ride for your groceries, combining the store’s existing order-picking service with drivers who are already cruising around looking for fares. [More]

Online game enthusiasts will soon be saying goodbye to one of their earliest gaming options: Yahoo Games. The service, along with several other products, will shutter in coming months as the tech company looks to simplify its business. [More]

As a rule of thumb, if you’re a company and you charge a customer for a service or product, you’re supposed to actually provide that service or product. That apparently wasn’t a practice adhered to by two credit card add-on companies that must now pay millions of dollars in fines and refunds. [More]

Looking to pick up a few dollars while making your way around town? Then Amazon’s latest attempt to quickly and cheaply deliver packages might be right up your alley, that is if the consumer-turned-courier program comes to fruition. [More]

The first step in living a fiscally responsible life is to understand what financial products are available and how they fit into your goals. Or at least that’s the idea behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recently launched Financial Coaching Initiative that aims to assist certain groups of consumers become financially independent and knowledgeable. [More]

If you’ve been hearing startup companies throw around phrases like, “We’re the Uber of [insert industry that is not ride-hailing]!” or “Our service functions just like the Airbnb of [another industry that is not renting out rooms to strangers]!” you’re not alone. A recent analysis of language used by startups to describe their businesses show that a lot of them are hitching their apple carts to those brands’ rising stars. [More]

It seemed like such a good plan. For their small businesses, several of our readers use postage printers from DYMO. The software that goes with these printers comes in two versions: free and $10 per month. The free version requires users to round their postage up slightly; the paid version does not. Then the company dropped a new rule on customers: if they want to use the free version of the software, they have to buy their labels from DYMO. If they want to keep using cheaper third-party labels, they have to pay $10/month for the service. [More]